The most regimented, complicated, and sophisticated skincare routine is nothing without the fundamentals being done right. There’s so much mythology around skincare, and when you’re constantly being distracted by the most-hyped products, trending ingredients, and newfound ways of applying them, it’s hard to feel like you actually understand your skin and its needs. CeraVe wants you to know, it doesn’t need to be this hard.
Skincare is intuitive, but it also requires looking at the bigger picture. We’ve mainly been taught to look inwards, at our skin types —how often we break out, whether we have oily or dry skin— but external factors play a bigger part than you may think.
We’ve had the importance of using SPF daily drilled into our skincare routines by now, but CeraVe’s new research on protecting and replenishing the skin barrier considers how our environment is changing, and that our skincare routines probably should too. We sat down with two of CeraVe’s skincare experts on a brand trip to Vienna to find out what this new research actually means for our skin.
Essentially, what CeraVe’s new European research has found, is that external environmental pressures, like pollution, UV, heat, and air-con, are increasingly affecting our skin health, and a lot of us may need to adapt our skincare regimes with that in mind. CeraVe’s research found that, while 81% of people living in Europe recognise the value of skin protection, only 22% of us actually use Barrier-Supporting Skincare.
Despite these findings, Dr. Michael Park, a Dermatologist at CeraVe, and also a Medfluencer and DJ, feels that most of us are working to keep our skin its most protected. “I actually really appreciate how Gen-Z really cares about their skin.” But the impact of social media on how we look at skincare may be doing some damage. “It can be a really confusing environment [for learning about skincare], because you just don’t know who you can believe all the time.”
From unqualified influencers handing out advice to viral products that don’t work for everyone, navigating skincare online is challenging. And when trends move this quickly, knowing whether the products and advice we’re following are both safe and effective becomes even more important. For CeraVe, that means bringing skincare back to dermatologist-informed fundamentals and formulas designed to support the skin barrier.
Dr, Michael Park shares, “My reminder is, oftentimes the best thing that you can do for your skin is the simplest thing.” And that simplest thing, based on CeraVe’s new research, is protecting your skin barrier.
“I think we all know that our world is becoming more urban, more industrialised, and so we are more exposed to more pollution on a day to day basis,” Nada Baalbaki, CeraVe’s Global Scientific Director, elaborated. “With something like CeraVe’s Hydrating HA Water Gel, it’s really important that, in addition to supporting and strengthening the skin barrier, it’s taking into account the daily needs of the skin, and really supporting it against pollution.”
When we asked Dr. Michael Park to explain in the simplest terms why the skin barrier is so important, he said, “I like to think of your skin as a fortress wall. Using products like CeraVe’s which protect the skincare barrier is like really sealing in the cracks in the wall to make sure that things from the outside environment just don’t get in.”
Skin barrier protection really can be that simple, and one thing that Michael and Nada both feel strongly about is that we’re doing too much in our skincare routines. As Nada Baalbaki explained, most of our skincare routines are more elaborate than they need to be. “It’s all about starting with the fundamentals of a skincare routine, which is a cleanser, a moisturiser, and sun protection, and really making sure that those are creating an environment for your skin to be its most healthy.”
The point isn’t simply to use less, but to make sure the products that remain in your routine are safe, effective, and doing what your skin actually needs them to do.
CeraVe’s new research might have uncovered some game-changing new findings, but the brand has always prioritised protecting and replenishing the skin barrier. In fact, CeraVe’s formulas are built around three essential ceramides identical to those found naturally in the skin, which are designed to deliver hydration over time and help support the skin barrier. It’s an approach rooted in keeping skincare both safe and effective, while giving the skin barrier the support it needs rather than chasing every new trend.
So, if skin barrier protection is something you need to do more of, make sure to check out CeraVe’s full range of essential skincare products.
